Italian centre-left politicians on
Tuesday condemned the Australian Open organisers' decision to
grant Serb great Novak Djokovic an exemption to play there later
this month despite his having consistently refused to disclose
if he has had the COVID jab.
Lazio Governor Nicola Zingaretti, former leader of the
centre-left Democratic Party (PD), called the decision
"disgusting" and said it was "an awful example and a slap in the
face for those who are fighting against COVID".
Lazio regional health pointman and PD member Alessio D'Amato
said the Serbian, who is aiming to notch a record 21st Grand
Slam title by winning his fourth Aussie Open, was a "terrible
example" to those considering whether to vaccinate or not and
argued that "he has used his fame and wealth to get a
pseudo-exemption".
The PD's sports chief, Marco Berruto, tweeted that Djokovic's
exemption was "a major scandal which sets a precedent with
unheard of dangers, deserving only of the disgust of all
sporting people who believe the rules should be respected".
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